Study: Most O.C. districts haven't defined student defiance

Sept. 10, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Adan Nieto, a sixth grade student at Sierra Preparatory Academy, a middle school in Santa Ana, laughs during story time Monday. Baba the Storyteller, a musical entertainer, was the class' special guest. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Students line up for class at Sierra Preparatory Academy, a middle school in Santa Ana, Monday. The school has implemented a unique program for improving student achievement and behavior -- all based on the positive behavioral support model, which has been growing in popularity with school districts. Sierra administrators have created their own system based on the broader program and have turned the school's name into an acronym for positive school behavior: Safety, Integrity, Excellence, Respect, Responsibility and Attitude. Each word is coupled with a behavior model designed to promote good behavior and a positive learning environment. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Jeff Bishop, principal of Sierra Preparatory Academy, a middle school in Santa Ana, says all of the students are heavily indoctrinated in etiquette, manners and study habits. Their notebooks and binders are emblazoned with the model. Here, he shows one student's school-issued notebook. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Adan Nieto, a sixth grade student at Sierra Preparatory Academy, a middle school in Santa Ana, laughs during story time Monday. Baba the Storyteller, a musical entertainer, was the class' special guest. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Only a quarter of Orange County school districts report in a new survey that they have a clear definition of what constitutes a willfully defiant and disruptive student, even as this behavior classification constitutes the No. 1 reason students are suspended in California.

Just four of 16 O.C. districts surveyed said they had clear, internal definitions for students who defy school authorities and disrupt school activities, the education think-tank EdSource reported Monday as part of the release of a 45-page study called "Understanding School Discipline in California: Perceptions and Practice."

"What we can conclude is that there are big discrepancies in the kinds of punishments students receive, based on where they go to school and the school's definitions or lack of definitions for these behaviors," said Louis Freedberg, executive director for Oakland-based EdSource. "In some cases, it might be arbitrary intervention."

California law permits school districts to suspend and expel any student who has "disrupted school activities or otherwise willfully defied the valid authority" of school staff, but the law leaves districts to interpret that language.

Statewide, 28 percent of districts reported having a clear definition of student defiance and disruptions, although 47 percent of districts reported that the state law spelling out this behavior category was "open to misinterpretation and overuse."

Meanwhile, state law offers less discipline flexibility when it comes to school violence and drug-related offenses.

Monday's report also found little uniformity in the strategies that California schools are using to lower suspension and expulsion rates. About a quarter of O.C. school districts surveyed said all schools in their district use a positive behavior intervention strategy, which encourages schools to explain and actively promote behavior expectations, and create a consistent, tiered approach to disciplining students.

"Positive responses will change student behaviors, but negative consequences don't," said Doreen Lohnes, assistant superintendent for support services in Santa Ana Unified, O.C.'s largest school district. "The first thing we do is change the school climate so students feel connected to adults and they prefer to behave well."

Most students will respond to positive behavior reinforcement, and for the ones who don't, officials are working to target them with additional support, including parent interventions and referrals to outside help, Lohnes said. Santa Ana over the past five years also has rolled out a team of about 10 mental-health clinicians to help prop up especially vulnerable students, she added.

While school officials say that creating a uniform approach to discipline is impractical across the county's 28 school districts, individual districts have been working to improve the evenhandedness of discipline within their system.

About five years ago, Garden Grove Unified created a set of districtwide guidelines to bring greater uniformity to, say, the number of days a student is suspended for a specific type of offense, said Connie Van Luit, who heads the district's discipline committee.

"We wanted to make sure students at all schools were getting the same consequence," said Van Luit, Garden Grove Unified's director for alternative programs. "What is expected if a student gets in a fight? Am I (the school administrator) supposed to call the police? Should I get them involved in counseling? Should I give detention or suspension?"

For non-violence and non-drug matters, Garden Grove leans toward a progressive discipline system that emphasizes fewer days of suspension and more behavioral help, Van Luit said. An in-school suspension-alternative program, for example, allows disciplined students to get their homework done and also receive education on dealing with difficult situations, Van Luit said.

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